The challenge
WestBay Title handled a mix of in-person and hybrid closings across the Tampa Bay metro area. Their hybrid workflow required borrowers to sign some documents electronically before an in-person notarization appointment. While faster than fully in-person closings, the hybrid approach still had significant friction.
The pain points were clear:
- Scheduling bottlenecks: Coordinating a physical meeting between borrower, notary, and sometimes a witness added 4-7 business days to the timeline.
- Reschedule rate: 23% of hybrid closings required at least one reschedule due to scheduling conflicts, traffic, or last-minute document changes.
- Geographic limitations: Their notary pool could only cover a 45-minute drive radius, limiting service area.
- Incomplete ID issues: Borrowers sometimes arrived with expired IDs or mismatched names, forcing cancellations that wasted everyone's time.
The decision to go fully remote
Florida's RON statute (Florida Statutes 117.265) provided a clear legal framework. WestBay's operations director, Alexis Porter, led a 6-week evaluation of RON platforms. The selection criteria prioritized:
- Compliance with Florida's specific RON requirements (recording retention, identity verification standards)
- Integration capability with their existing title production system
- Notary training and onboarding support
- Borrower experience (minimal friction, no software installation)
Implementation timeline
Results after 90 days
The impact was measurable within the first month and continued improving as the team built confidence with the workflow.
Cycle time dropped by 6 days. With no physical meeting to schedule, closings that previously took 12-14 days from clear-to-close to funding now completed in 6-8 days. The notarization itself averaged 14 minutes.
Reschedules fell 42%. Identity issues were caught during the pre-session verification step, days before the actual session. When a borrower's ID was expired, the system flagged it immediately and the coordinator could resolve it before scheduling the session.
Customer satisfaction improved by 3.1 points. Post-closing surveys showed borrowers particularly valued the convenience of notarizing from home and the shorter overall timeline. The most common feedback: “I didn't have to take time off work.”
Service area expanded. Without geographic constraints, WestBay began handling closings across all of Florida rather than just the Tampa Bay area, opening new revenue streams.
Lessons learned
- Pre-session identity verification is critical. Catching ID issues before the live session eliminated the most common cause of session failures.
- Notary confidence comes from practice. The notaries who completed the most practice sessions had the highest completion rates and shortest session times.
- Customer communication matters. Clear instructions about what to expect (camera, microphone, ID ready) reduced session friction significantly.
- Keep in-person as an option. About 8% of borrowers preferred in-person, and accommodating them preserved customer satisfaction without impacting the RON rollout.